Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pakistan is scheduled to hear the long-awaited appeal against Zahir Jaffer’s death sentence in the high-profile Noor Mukadam murder case on May 13, according to the court’s latest cause list released on Sunday.
The case, which sent shockwaves across Pakistan, began on July 20, 2021, when Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman and daughter of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was found brutally murdered in Islamabad’s affluent Sector F-7/4.
The incident sparked nationwide outrage, particularly because of the gruesome nature of the crime — Noor had been tortured and beheaded. Zahir Jaffer, the primary accused, was arrested at the crime scene and subsequently charged with her murder.
In February 2022, a district and sessions court found Jaffer guilty of the murder and sentenced him to death. Alongside the death penalty, he was also handed a 25-year prison term with hard labor and a fine of Rs200,000.
Two of Jaffer’s domestic staff members, Iftikhar and Jameel, were also convicted for their roles in the case and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each. However, other co-accused — including Jaffer’s parents and several employees from TherapyWorks, a counseling organization — were acquitted by the court.
According to the Supreme Court’s website, the hearing for Jaffer’s appeal is now formally scheduled for May 13. The case will be reviewed by a three-member bench headed by Justice Hashim Kakar, and comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
Significantly, the court will also hear Noor Mukadam’s father Shaukat Mukadam’s appeal against the acquittal of Zahir Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee. Appeals filed by the convicted co-accused, Iftikhar and Jameel, are also expected to be addressed during the proceedings.
The Islamabad High Court had previously upheld Jaffer’s death sentence in March 2023 and converted his 25-year prison sentence into a second death penalty. Jaffer’s legal team challenged this ruling in the Supreme Court the following month.
Noor’s father has repeatedly called for expeditious justice, especially given the time that has passed since the original conviction. On Noor’s birth anniversary in 2023, he held a press conference appealing directly to the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing, stating that justice delayed is justice denied.
The upcoming hearing is seen as a critical juncture in the case, which has become a symbol of the fight against gender-based violence and for legal accountability in Pakistan.
